Immigration

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On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives began debate on two immigration bills aiming to enhance border and interior enforcement of immigration law, among other matters. The two bills were the result of House Republican Majority discussion on approaches to effectively address the Administration’s call to secure America’s borders and provide for Deferred Action Childhood Arrival (DACA) participant status in the United States. View Full Post
On June 19, 2018, unannounced ICE raids resulted in the arrest of more than 140 workers at four meat processing plants in Ohio. ICE calls this its largest workplace raid in recent history. According to Fresh Mark, it is a member of ICE’s voluntary IMAGE (ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers) Program. View Full Post
E-2 Visas for Israeli Investors Will Be Available Soon The Israeli Knesset Internal Affairs Committee recently approved the new E-2 visa regulations thereby allowing Israeli entrepreneurs to file for and obtain E-2 visas in the United States.  Until now, Israeli citizens were not eligible for the E-2 visa.  This is a tremendous step forward for Israeli investors looking to pursue startups in the United States, especially tech-startups. View Full Post
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released proposed changes to ETA Form-9035, Labor Condition Application for Nonimmigrant Workers (LCA), that would require more details about the end-user clients and potential worksites specific to the placement of H-1B workers. Current practice requires employers to list the addresses for all intended worksites. View Full Post
The Visa Bulletin is released monthly by the Department of State and is used to determine when a sponsored foreign national can submit the final step of the green card process. The complete visa bulletin can be found here. Below is a summary of the July Visa Bulletin, including Final Action Dates and changes from the previous month: China: EB-1 remains backlogged to January 1, 2012, EB-2 jumps ahead four months to January 1, 2015, while EB-3 reverses course and retrogresses to January 1, 2013 India: EB-1 remains stalled at January 1, 2012, EB-2 continues to creep forward, moving to March 15, 2019, and EB-3 leaps ahead six months to November 1, 2018 Philippines: EB-1 and EB-2 remain current, while EB-3 remains backlogged to January 1, 2017 All Other Countries: All EB categories are current NOTE: USCIS has not yet announced if it will accept I-485 applications in July based on the Department of State’s Dates for Filing chart. View Full Post
Recently I was interviewed by Brian Cardile, an editor at the Daily Journal, a legal newspaper in California, and host of a weekly podcast covering appellate law cases and issues. The topic was Connor v. First Student, a case pending before the California Supreme Court which is vitally important to employers, landlords and background screening vendors in how background checks are conducted in California. View Full Post
The Trump Administration reportedly is considering a new rule that would make it easier for the government to deny visas to individuals on “public charge” grounds. This has drawn the criticism of many New York legislators. The Administration may have been contemplating the move for a while. View Full Post